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I love the church calendar not for its honoring of the saints, but for its honoring the centrality of Jesus. For that reason I push back against setting aside Sundays for the recognition of things like “Reformation Sunday.” We ought to acknowledge Luther’s contribution to our shared faith in ways other than making the last Sunday in October a feast day in honor of “St. Martin.” Instead, I want this episode to be my homage to the legacy of Luther and others who have thought and acted courageously. In their honor let’s celebrate the oft-maligned “slippery slope.” This episode is an edited version of a blog post from 2017. I think I’ll run it annually.  Call it Reformation Monday. Thanks for joining us! We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: The Slippery Slope and the Jesus Box http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/semper-reformanda/ AI was not used in the writing or editing of this episode. Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.

This is a Third-Monday episode. Third Monday episodes are more incidental, personal, and situational updates touching on my life in general and on the possibilities and circumstances of ministry. Responses are welcome and encouraged.  In this episode, along with some thoughts about the analog AND the digital life, I have questions about tea and coffee pots. If you like what you find here, please review and rate this. I’m told that helps others discover us.  But the best way to get the word to others is to tell them. If you know others who might enjoy what we do here at Greatheart’s Table, please pass this along to them.  Thanks for joining us! We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview https://www.omnigroup.com/omnioutliner https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/devonthink Conferences/Off-Script Kids https://jonmalesic.substack.com/p/how-i-uncovered-a-prolific-ai-author?r=76824&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer Jon Davis, Dangerous Prayer Neil Postman, Building a Bridge to the Eighteenth Century When you buy a book using a link on this page, Greatheart’s Table receives a commission. Thank you for supporting this work! AI was not used in the writing or editing of this episode. Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.

Hello! Welcome to this “Rainy Day Conversation” around Greatheart’s Table. I’m Randy Greenwald.  In this episode we are speaking with the Reverend Dr. Jon Davis, Episcopal priest, author, conference speaker, and no doubt a half dozen other things, about his recent book Dangerous Prayer. This is not a book about how to get one’s way with God through prayer. It is a book about our allowing God’s way with us, to the end of our joy. Pushing beyond important theological propositions, Jon helps us wrestle with what it means to enjoy God. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.  Thanks for joining us around Greatheart’s Table. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: For an explanation of the name and intention of these occasional interviews, read this, or listen to it here or here. Jon Davis, Dangerous Prayer Henri Nouen, The Way of the Heart J. I. Packer, Knowing God Frederick Buechner, The Sacred Journey When you buy a book using a link on this page, Greatheart’s Table receives a commission. Thank you for supporting this work! AI was not used in the writing or editing of this episode. Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.

I’m prone to self-pity. So are many of us. My intent in this post is not to further stir up those negative thoughts. And yet at times it’s important to know that what we feel is felt by others. We need to be reminded that we’re not crazy, or if we are, we are no more or less crazy than the next pastor. This post is adapted from the introduction to my yet unpublished memoir of pastoral ministry and grace, A Reformed Pastor. Someday I hope to make widely available the entire story of ministry and grace that book tells. Your presence here, and your promoting this to others, helps bring that dream closer to reality. Thanks for joining us! We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: Paul Tripp, Dangerous Calling AI was not used in the writing or editing of this episode. Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.

Pastors desks and inboxes are often littered with new initiatives and new resources and most of them will appeal to our desire to see the church grow and will therefore tempt us.  At the same time there may be a gnawing uncertainty about that new strategy or technology. It’s that inner discomfort that we too often suppress that I want to address. We are called to be forward looking, but we also are called to be wise.  Since these thoughts first aired in March of 2022, AI has joined the fray, making our search for wisdom even more urgent. Please rate, review, and refer this non-AI produced content to others. Thanks for joining us around Greatheart’s Table. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: https://www.wsj.com/articles/churches-new-members-personal-online-data-analytics-gloo-11640310982 I’m grateful to L. M. Sacasas for referring me to this article. This is the constant and insightful theme of L. M. (Mike) Sacasas’ newsletter The Convivial Society. I encourage you to subscribe. https://theconvivialsociety.substack.com/ E. F. Schumacher, Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered (United States: HarperPerennial, 1973), p. 70. “How Sweet and Awful Is the Place” https://opc.org/hymn.html?hymn_id=296 I quote this with trepidation knowing that 1) many in our day will have no knowledge of it, and 2) those who do will trip over the word awful (meaning full of awe, or awe inspiring), which has been ‘updated’ to ‘awesome’ in most modern renditions. AI was not used in the writing or editing of this episode. Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.

Third Monday / September, ’26 Hello! Third Monday posts are more incidental, personal, and situational updates touching on my life in general and on the possibilities and circumstances of ministry. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: All kidding aside, this quote is legit. Carson McCullers, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter(United States: Harcourt, 2000), p. 302. When you buy a book using a link on this page, Greatheart’s Table receives a commission. Thank you for supporting this work! AI was not used in the writing or editing of this episode. Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.

I post with pastors primarily in mind. I have learned, though, that many others find items on the menu here tasty for them as well. This is especially true with this one. I’ve invited Rob Edenfield to join us once again this week. Rob is the pastor of Treasure Coast Presbyterian Church in Stuart, Florida. He has a deep mind, a great heart, a delightful spirit, and crazy gifts, in addition to brain tumors that are actively trying to kill him. This latter reality has given him a unique perspective on death, on the beauty of life, and on the pastoral task itself. I’m grateful for his wisdom. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: Spiritual Care, Dietrich Bonhoeffer AI was not used in the writing or editing of this episode. Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.

I’ve opened a seat this morning for singer/songwriter Peter Mulvey. I know nothing of Mulvey’s religious convictions, though a quick Google search no doubt could give me a good idea. I’ve opened up this seat because like many songwriters and poets, he’s honest. And honesty is something pastors, and in fact all of us, could use more of.  This episode is a reset of one first aired in February of 2022. The question, and the answer, are the same. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: On Spotify, Mulvey’s top song has received 180,000 listens compared to Bruce Springsteen’s 400 million and Ed Sheeran’s three billion. You can listen to the song here:  Mulvey’s web site is here: https://www.petermulvey.com AI was not used in the writing or editing of this episode. Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.

This is the continuation of a Rainy Day Conversation with author Jen Michel regarding her book A Rule for the Rest of Us. I’ve not met many who have thought as deeply and as carefully about the on-the-ground practices that make for a life of faithful discipleship. I encourage you to do her, and yourself, a favor by preordering her book before it is released on September 8. A link is in the show notes. I’m grateful to Jen for her time.  We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: For an explanation of the name and intention of these occasional interviews, read this, or listen to it here or here. A Rule for the Rest of Us by Jen Pollack Michel will be released on September 8. You can preorder a copy using this link.  Jen Michel’s Substack, A Habit Called Faith Jen Michel’s website Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karennina Chaim Potok, The Chosen When you buy a book using a link on this page, Greatheart’s Table receives a commission. Thank you for supporting this work! Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.

I’m excited to introduce you to Jen Michel. Jen is the author of five books, with the sixth to be released on September 8. Jen has agreed to talk with me about that book, A Rule for the Rest of Us: An Ancient Practice for Making the Daily Decisions that Shape Faithful Lives. Jen has a deep concern for nurturing and guiding ordinary Christians into the practices that constitute faithful Christian living among a modern Christianity which has lost, as she puts it, an appetite for sainthood. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: For an explanation of the name and intention of these occasional interviews, read this, or listen to it here or here. A Rule for the Rest of Us by Jen Pollack Michel will be released on September 8. You can preorder a copy using this link.  Jen Michel’s Substack, A Habit Called Faith Jen Michel’s website Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karennina Chaim Potok, The Chosen When you buy a book using a link on this page, Greatheart’s Table receives a commission. Thank you for supporting this work! Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.

Third Monday / August, ’26 Hello! Third Monday posts are more incidental, personal, and situational updates touching on my life in general and on the possibilities and circumstances of ministry. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. […]

Someone somewhere has said that “comparison is the thief of joy.” It is also the seedbed of all kinds of misery and is the source of a toxicity that has been the ruin of many. It’s hard, especially for those laboring in small churches in small places to believe they share the same validity of […]

I like to think of myself as very orthodox in my Christian ethics, and admitted coward in the face of real or perceived conflict. So, when I am asked the question whether I would or would not tell a sinner to repent, the latter reality can overwhelm the former.  But the answer to that question […]

This is part two of my interview with Wayne Jacobsen and Tobie Van der Westhuizen concerning their book Just Love: How One Mistranslation Distorted the Gospel. In this half of the interview we hear how Wayne and Tobie understand the law of God, particularly as it is written upon the Christian’s heart. More than that, […]

We are joined by two authors who have written a book called Just Love, Wayne Jacobsen of California and Tobie Vander Westhuizen of South Africa.  After we recorded the conversation, Wayne told me, “I love that you can engage in conversation without having to agree on every point.” Which is true. I don’t agree with […]